I have a 2000 RR 4.6 HSE and mine says ATF too..I have also heard of this around the LR grapevine..I would consider finding out for sure..i know you can have some serious issues when a wrong fluid is in a Rover..The only thing different on the Vitesse was the interior trim package and some outer trim...Non of the fluids would be different..

 

I know the Vitesse package is just cosmetics. I tend to default to the owners manual as the most trusted source however it is hard to ignore the number of people online who say ATF. I'm going to call around to several dealers and see what they say.

 

Well I called 3 dealers and 2 said to use ATF and the other said to use gear oil. Not as conclusive as I would have hoped. I think LRNA owes me some ATF. I've already wasted 5 quarts of gear oil. Now I'm going to have to go through at least 5 quarts of ATF. This is going to be a $100 screw up that is all the dealers fault.

 

Chris, what does Bobby Rahal LR say to use?

I've trusted them to do service on my Jaguars for years and they have a fine reputation for properly advising the customer.

I've had vehicles that have used ATF in the transfer case before, so it's not totally crazy. I'm not sure what the benefit would be over regular gear oil though. BTW, for gear oil, I use Lucas HD in my Jeeps, love the stuff.

OH - I forgot to tell you, I did pick up that 96 RR last week.....

 

Ok, I flushed out the gear oil tonight and filled her up with some cheap ATF. I'm going to drive it for a week and then change it out again and put in the good stuff.

 

I checked my owners manual and it says to use "ATF Dexron IID". Also, my specs were on 163 instead of page 165. Which is very strange...

 

Hey krazzz, I'm picking up my Rover tomorrow from Rahal (they are replacing both blower motors for the HVAC) - If I remember I'll ask Jay what they recommend for the fluid and post it up.